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Conceptual illustration of a ribosome with mRNA running through as it strings together amino acids to create a new protein.
Living World

When ribosomes go rogue

By Tim Vernimmen

Unusual variations in the cellular protein factory can skew development, help cancer spread and more. But ribosome variety may also play biological roles, scientists say.

Illustration of a woman reading to two children. There is an image of a cat in the book she is reading, and the girl says “Cat!”, while the boy says “¡Gato!”
Society

How a child becomes bilingual — and what can be done to help them get there

By Katarina Zimmer

Kids from immigrant backgrounds in the US often struggle to develop fluency in two languages. Many factors — parental misconceptions, the lack of support in schools and social attitudes — play a role.

A man rides a reclined bike race around a track
Technology

The Cybathlon: Bionic athletes compete for the gold — and push assistive technologies forward

By Dana Mackenzie

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life

Silhouette of a person pinching their forehead in pain.
Health & Disease

Studies of migraine’s many triggers offer paths to new therapies

By Amber Dance

One class of drugs has already found success in treating the painful, disorienting and common attacks. Excitement is building about a slew of additional drug targets.

Conceptual illustration shows lab-coated scientists attempting to kick a field goal but missing by many yards.
Health & Disease

Why a diabetes drug fell short of anticancer hopes

By Amber Dance

Population and animal studies suggested it could treat cancer, but the clinical trials were a bust. Here’s what happened and what potential may remain.

A collage of photos shows five high-rise buildings made of mass timber.
Technology

Sustainable building effort reaches new heights with wooden skyscrapers

Wood engineered for strength and safety offers architects an alternative to carbon-intensive steel and concrete

By Kurt Kleiner
A European robin feeds a much larger common cuckoo in a nest.
Living World

Are you my baby? The clever ways that brood parasites trick other birds

Cuckoos, cowbirds and other species outsource their parental duties. Scientists are uncovering new twists in this sneaky — and often treacherous — game of survival.

By Sofia Quaglia
An artist’s conception of an “awkward family photo” featuring multicellular animals and their unicellular cousins.
Living World

We are family: Tracing the evolution of animals

By Amber Dance

To understand the origins of multicelled life, researchers are studying a motley assortment of simpler animal relatives. The commonalities they’re unearthing offer a trove of clues about our mutual past.

A colorful hummingbird hovers at a flower, feeding with a long beak.
Living World

Hummingbirds thrive on an extreme lifestyle. Here’s how.

By Bob Holmes

Soldiering through nightly suspended animation, a (nearly) all-sugar diet, backwards flight and long migrations, the birds’ tiny physiques prove mighty

A computer drawing in which a white blood cell spits its stringy DNA at a virus.
Living World

Your cells are dying. All the time.

By Amber Dance

Some go gently into the night. Others die less prettily in freak accidents or deadly invasions, or after a showy display.

Illustration of two kidneys, ureters and some major blood vessels, with some yellow blobs depicting a drug.
Health & Disease

Targeting the racial disparity in kidney disease

By Liam Drew

Some people of West African descent face a higher risk of renal failure. New drugs based on gene research may help right the ship — if they can reach everyone who needs them.

Hands type at a computer with bar graphs on screen, other hands hold questionnaires.
Society

Can you believe the polls? It depends

By Ula Chrobak

A veteran of survey research explains why high-quality polling matters — and warns of the proliferation of shoddy gimmicks

Multimedia

Collage with images of hospital, bacteria, viruses, patient and health-care worker.
Health & Disease

What if a virus could reverse antibiotic resistance?

By Patience Asanga

In promising experiments, phage therapy forces bacteria into a no-win dilemma that lowers their defenses against drugs they’d evolved to withstand

Cartoon illustration shows four people sniffing strong-smelling items: an old sock, flowers, a banana and a cake.
The Mind

What’s that smell — and how’d you know?

By Daniela Hirschfeld

It’s clear that genes, receptors and neurons all play a role in detecting odors. But much of how we make sense of what we sniff remains mysterious. A neuroscientist explains.

Collage shows DNA, chromosomes, histones, a few key chemicals.
Living World

These proteins have been secretly managing your cells

By Viviane Callier

Scientists have long known that histones spool DNA and help regulate genes. They may be doing a lot more.

A closeup view of a bit of soil forming an arch.
Food & Environment

The dirt on biocrusts: Why scientists are working to save Earth’s living skin

By Jude Coleman

Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem — one that you can help protect.

Photograph of a warning label on the side of a cigarette pack. It says SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.
Health & Disease

The tussle over cigarette warning labels, and the hazy future of vaping

By Clare Watson

Regulatory hurdles, industry objections and legal fights have gone on for decades over traditional tobacco. What’s in store for the next generation of smoking?

A conceptual illustration shows a city street with people standing on each side, some holding placards. One side is colored red, the other blue. There are political posters on the walls and a huge chasm in the middle of the street.
Society

Divided we stand: The rise of political animosity

Scientists peered into the partisan abyss. Here’s what they found.

By Carl-Johan Karlsson
Conceptual illustration. Polygonal bacteriophages inject their nucleic acid into one bacterium; elsewhere, new phages pop out of another bacterium.
Living World

The phageome: A hidden kingdom within your gut

Human innards are teeming with viruses that infect bacteria. What are they up to?

By Amber Dance
People walking through a dark greenhouse filled with trays of softly glowing plants
Society

What a bioluminescent petunia had to teach me

By Rachel Ehrenberg

I bought a glowing plant. It led me down a rabbit hole of radiant mushrooms, 19th century experiments and a modern rivalry between scientists in Russia and the Americas.

Grayscale image of small orb in the upper left with gray planetary rings taking up much of the rest of the image.
Physical World

Saturn’s moon Mimas may hide a surprisingly young ocean

By Shannon Hall

The existence of another watery world in the outer solar system may offer clues to how such seas form — and hope for another spot to search for life

Illustration shows a hand holding a 1960s-era car.
Technology

New forms of steel for stronger, lighter cars

By John Johnson Jr.

Automakers are tweaking production processes to create a slew of new steels with just the right properties, allowing them to build cars that are both safer and more fuel-efficient

Collage showing children, some of them obese, plus fast food and other diabetes risk factors.
Health & Disease

Understanding the sudden rise of type 2 diabetes in children

By Charlotte Huff

The metabolic disorder was long known as a disease of adulthood. Now, it’s spiking in kids and teens, with worrisome consequences.

Photograph of a flying bee heading toward a mustard plant with yellow blossoms. In the background are grey clouds and blue sky.
Food & Environment

Air pollution makes it harder for bees to smell flowers

By Katarina Zimmer

Contaminants can alter plant odors and warp insects’ senses, disrupting the process of pollination

Drawing of tiny people holding, carrying and trying to push the metal balls of an outsized Newton’s cradle.
Society

Are you a workaholic? Here’s how to spot the signs

In a major shift, psychologists now view an out-of-control compulsion to work as an addiction with its own set of risk factors and consequences

By Chris Woolston
Collage shows Jenny Graves reading a book, a koala, kangaroos, a concert hall.
Society

Of genes, chromosomes and oratorios

Jenny Graves has spent her life mapping genes and comparing genomes. Now she’s created a musical opus about evolution of life on this planet — bringing the same drive and experimentalism she brought to the study of marsupial chromosomes.

By Marla Broadfoot

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